The Life Aquatic

An Inconvenient Truth, the documentary on global warming starring Al Gore, opened this week in New York and California. I saw it last night and, though I’ve attended several academic conferences related to global warming and its effects this year, this film presents the scientific consensus on the real and significant effects of climate change in the most straightforward and compelling way I’ve seen yet.

Of course, there are still some people who don’t think there’s a problem—for instance, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a think tank funded in part by the oil industry. It’s commissioned a couple 60-second advertising spots that are now airing in 14 U.S. cities and on its Web site. The tagline of the ads: “Carbon dioxide: They call it a pollutant. We call it Life.” Huh?

Anyway, if you’re the type who values science over spin, you might want to calculate your own contribution to the problem at climatecrisis.org (click on “Take Action,” then “Your Impact). There are quite a few of these carbon calculators available on the Web, although this one ups accuracy by adding in your airline miles—which may make some of us holier-than-thou, public-transportation-loving urbanites feel a little less smug.

The hope is that we start thinking about our own CO2 emissions the way we think about our calorie intake (not that we Americans have such a great track record in that area either). You know, like realizing that huge hunk of chocolate cake is a full 600 calories and deciding to split it with your date. It’s the same thing for your drive from Boston to Burlington. Ride with someone else, and your impact is half as much.

OK, OK, so carpooling alone won’t solve global warming. But getting people to consider their own emissions on a daily basis would be a decent start to building up the political will to take on the problem for real. Need more motivation? Check out these simulated Google maps of the warmer, flooded future.—Kalee Thompson

Comments

[Grant Lockie]

Global Warming is, of course, not science.
It is spiritual.
It says - we are all sinners destroying the World and to save ourselves we must repent and become truly Green.
I see this devotee [author] has followed her cult leaders and denounced all opposition as being the devil incarnate - the evil multinationals.

It's nice to be Green but it's not nice to destroy the Global economy - Tony Blair discovered the cost of fixing Global Warming was a staggering 18 million, million dollars - and promply dropped it as an issue into the too hard basket.
Canada has declared it's Kyoto target impossible and of course Kyoto targets are just the start demanded.

Here is the real inconvienient truth...
Water Vapour is up to 40000 parts per million volume of air - variable - typically 10000.
It's molecule has a greenhouse effect three times that of Carbon Dioxide.
Carbon Dioxide at a concentration of 370 parts per million volume is, in effect, not actually a Greenhouse gas at all.

Where is the debate? When did you see a Global Warming Sceptic heard at all let alone debated by a proponent like big Al.

There is another side to it.
http://www.friendsofscience.org/index.php
http://home.austarnet.com.au/yours/Greenhouse_Bullcrap.htm

[Eric]

There are of course people who refuse to accept certain realities of our world. For example, there are people who still cling to the 'earth is flat' way of thinking.

There are also people who refuse to believe that we are raising the temputure of our planet and that temperature shift is killing entire species.

While there have been temperature shifts in the past, we are ariticially affecting our world to the detriment of other creatures of the planet. Thats not a cult, its fact.

Once we have damaged the world enough, we will die out as a species, and hopefully whatever life is left will do better than us.

[Michael]

Maybe the author should try to be a reporter rather than a puppet. While global warming may exist, it does not exist because of carbon dioxide. Through history, the earth has warmed and cooled in cycles, ever heard of the Ice Age? 30 years ago, the world was concerned about global cooling and that it was going to kill off the entire planet. Al Gore, and his movie, are both full of inaccuracies and not worth the time to watch/listen to.

[Nathan - 4 easy wasy to prevent global warming]

I'm glad Gore's movie is getting so much attention. It seems to be having an impact too! I was amazed to see that in the State of the Union address on Jan. 23rd Bush called Global Warming a real problem.

Finally, he's changing is retoric. Now if we can just get a change in action as well!

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The picture is clear about how the air pollution is one of the major causes of the global warming.

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